Derek Jeter set to retire

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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.tsn.ca/from-high-school-pros ... rt-1.90747
From high school prospect to Hall of Fame-bound: Derek Jeter drew attention from the start

The Canadian Press

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The 17-year-old kid from Kalamazoo drew all sorts of raves.

He was a "young colt" with a "purrfect SS body" and was a "top student" who planned to study medicine at the University of Michigan, too.

"This guy is special," one big league scout even wrote.

But, could anyone back then have projected that Derek Jeter the high schooler would someday become Derek Jeter the future Hall of Famer?

Now 40, Jeter is set to retire after this weekend. A five-time World Series champion and sixth on the career hits list, he spent two decades as the shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Five big league teams bypassed Jeter in baseball's amateur draft in 1992 before New York selected him with the No. 6 pick. A year earlier, Yankees scout Dick Grouch had first spotted Jeter after his junior year.

"It was one of those serendipitous events," Grouch recalled last week. "I was going to cover a tournament on the other side of the state, and I knew they were having this talent identification camp at Mount Morris High School, so I stopped just to get a glance as to what was transpiring."

This time, there was indeed something worth seeing.

"About 5 or 10 minutes in, he was taking groundballs at the time, and then he did things that caught my eye," Grouch said.

With the short high school season, Jeter didn't play many games during the school year, so Grouch watched him with the Kalamazoo Maroons summer league team. And then Jeter injured an ankle early in his senior season, limiting his playing time.

But Jeter already had caught the attention of scouts for many teams, according to reports that later went to baseball's Hall of Fame.

Cincinnati scout Gene Bennett wrote in April 1992 that Jeter aimed to study medicine at Michigan, adding he "has leadership ability with good makeup" and possessed "skills similar to (Barry) Larkin as high school player."

Larkin, who played college ball at Michigan, became a Hall of Fame shortstop with the Reds.

The California Angels' Jon Niederer noticed Jeter was "somewhat thin-chested and 'pointy shouldered,'" saying he had a "good face — very young looking" and was a "top student from a high class family."

Niederer said Jeter had "all the tools to play the game at a high level." He took note of his "very quick hands and feet — so quick they can get him set up to make a play before the ball arrives and he looks out of synch."

Ed Santa of the Colorado Rockies said Jeter had a "purrfect SS body" and projected him to have All-Star potential.

"You get excited just watching him warm up," he wrote in May 1992.

Dave Littlefield, who scouted Jeter for the Montreal Expos and went on to become Pittsburgh's general manager, wrote a report that praised Jeter's body type and bode well for future success.

"Hi butt, longish arms & legs, leanish torso," he said. Among his other remarks was the "young colt" description.

"I think I got most of that right," said Littlefield, who now scouts for the Chicago Cubs. "I wish in retrospect we had picked him."

Jeter says he never really focused on scouts and is pretty sure they first showed up to scout another player on his summer team. Grouch observed Jeter for about a year but tried not to interact with him.

"He always stayed away. He kept his distance," Jeter said.

Grouch had a reason for his behaviour.

"I did not want him to know that I was at the ballpark," he said. "I sat in my car. I was in the bushes. I was in the woods. I didn't want him to play for me, because I wanted to see how he handled failure. And every game that he played was the same."

As the draft approached, Yankees' director of scouting Bill Livesey made the trip to Michigan to watch him play. But the entire organization avoided contact. Five other teams were ahead of New York.

"We pretty much zeroed in on him, but none of us wanted to get our hopes up," Livesey said. And when Yankees executives met on the day before the draft, there was one last internal hurdle to overcome — and it was a big one.

"Mr. Steinbrenner was not real high on taking high school kids, simply because they were too long from the big leagues. So we had to convince him," Livesey said, referring to late owner George Steinbrenner, who was suspended from baseball at the time.

"He asked me how long it was going to take for him to be in the big leagues," Livesey said. "It was a little bit of the fib: I told him four years."

The five teams ahead of the Yankees didn't take Jeter. Not Houston, not Cleveland, not Montreal, not Baltimore, not Cincinnati. When the Yankees were up, Jeter was there for the picking.

Jeter signed for a $700,000 bonus (he would make $266 million from the Yankees), reached the major leagues for the first time in 1995 and quickly blossomed.

Grouch says he had a feeling.

"He's going to be able to play in the toughest venue in all of athletics, and that's Yankee Stadium," he said.

"And this guy, he was going to capture this entire city. He was going to capture New York."
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.tsn.ca/purrfect-for-perfectio ... te-1.90748
purrfect for perfection: Could Derek Jeter be the first with 100 per cent in Hall of Fame vote?

The Canadian Press

purrfect for perfection: Could Derek Jeter be the first with 100 per cent in Hall of Fame vote? Article Image 0, The Canadian Press

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Derek Jeter has had as close to purrfect a career as a major leaguer can have. Still, five years from now, don't expect the New York Yankees' captain to be a unanimous selection to baseball's Hall of Fame.

That's not a knock. He'd be in pretty impressive company.

Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Cal Ripken Jr. all dominated the game, and all came up short. Tom Seaver, the top vote-getter by percentage, was left off five ballots.

If there's anyone worthy of 100 per cent approval from the voters in the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Jeter could be it.

"He's so revered," Hall spokesman Brad Horn said. "He's reached iconic status probably at a more national standard of any player of his lifetime."

The 40-year-old shortstop's model career for the major's most storied franchise will come to an end Sunday after two decades. Five World Series championships, sixth on the career hits list, 14 All-Star selections. He's the face of baseball, idolized by a generation of young stars from Troy Tulowitzki to Yoenis Cespedes to Mike Trout. And he played through the Steroids Era without the slightest tarnish.

What then could possibly prevent No. 2 from receiving affirmation from all 500-plus voters on the class of 2020 ballot?

Plenty, it turns out.

Election to the Hall of Fame requires 75 per cent of the vote from writers with 10 consecutive years in the BBWAA at any point, a rigorous standard that produced no player electees in 2013. Writers can vote for up to 10 players — there were 36 on the ballot this year with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas gaining entry.

Seaver received 98.84 per cent of the vote in 1992. Ripken, credited with helping revive baseball after the 1994-95 strike by breaking the consecutive games record set by Lou Gehrig, failed to impress eight voters and was third by percentage at 98.53. Aaron? Nine people didn't vote for the home run king, and he's sixth on the list at 97.83.

"I do not consider a unanimous vote important for the simple reason that it is nearly impossible for between 500 and 600 people to agree completely on any one thing," BBWAA Secretary-Treasurer Jack O'Connell said. "It is hard enough to get the 75 per cent required for election."

Election to the Hall is not based solely on statistics. Consideration of integrity, character and sportsmanship are integral.

That's where it gets complicated.

Stars such as home run king Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire have fallen way short of the minimum because many writers refuse to vote for anyone who has admitted using performance-enhancing drugs or been accused of it. Two voters who revealed their secret ballots this year, Ken Gurnick and Larry Rocca, left Maddux off because the 355-game winner played during the Steroids Era, even though no one suggested he used PEDs.

Gurnick submitted just one name, Jack Morris, who fell short of the 75 per cent threshold in his final year on the ballot. Others have returned blank ballot in protest of PED users.

Writers have left names off their ballot specifically because no one has been a unanimous selection.

Others have withheld votes from superstars in order to throw support to a candidate they may think needs more help. Some players were left off ballots because they had contentious relationships with members of the media. One gave his vote to Deadspin — he was banned from voting again.

"Voting for the Hall of Fame is a subjective exercise," Horn said. "The Baseball Hall of Fame has entrusted the BBWAA since the very first election in '36 to provide strong council, good judgment and make very representative selections of what the Hall of Fame stands."

Ruth's feats on the field and his shenanigans off it made him one of the most famous people in America. Yet, he was omitted from 11 ballots and got just 95.13 per cent of the vote in 1936. Perhaps his carousing had an influence on the writers.

Jeter doesn't have that problem, though, and that is in part what makes him the purrfect candidate for perfection.

"If there's going to be a first-time unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame, it should be him," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Not a breath of a scandal with Derek Jeter. Class all the way.

I used to be a Yankees fan. Roger Maris. Mickey Mantle. All the stars.

That fan focus faded. But I always kind of noticed Jeter from a distance. Never in trouble. Always upbeat. Dignified. Good with the media.

I saw him and Mariano Rivera play in Seattle. A highlight for me as a sports fan. Jeter played well. Rivera got the save.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Robbie
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I wonder if Derek Jeter will personally meet up and thank the then-12 angel in the outfield when, as a rookie in the 1996 ALCS Game 1 he made a ruled home run that allowed his Yankees to tie the game and eventually win the game.

[video][/video]

That boy jumpstarted Jeter's career and helped him to win a World Series - the first of five he won.
祝加拿大加式足球聯賽不列颠哥伦比亚卑詩雄獅隊今年贏格雷杯冠軍。此外祝溫哥華加人隊贏總統獎座·卡雲斯·甘保杯·史丹利盃。還每年祝溫哥華白頭浪隊贏美國足球大联盟杯。不要忘記每年祝溫哥華巨人贏西部冰球聯盟冠軍。
改建後的卑詩體育館於二十十一年九月三十日重新對外開放,首場體育活動為同日舉行的加拿大足球聯賽賽事,由主場的卑詩雄獅隊以三十三比二十四擊敗愛民頓愛斯基摩人隊。
祝你龍年行大運。
恭喜西雅图海鹰直到第四十八屆超級盃最終四十三比八大勝曾拿下兩次超級盃冠軍的丹佛野馬拿下隊史第一個超級盃冠軍。
TheLionKing
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Shoo in for Cooperstown.
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WestCoastJoe
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Robbie wrote:I wonder if Derek Jeter will personally meet up and thank the then-12 angel in the outfield when, as a rookie in the 1996 ALCS Game 1 he made a ruled home run that allowed his Yankees to tie the game and eventually win the game.

[video][/video]

That boy jumpstarted Jeter's career and helped him to win a World Series - the first of five he won.
That's right, Robbie. Angel in the Outfield. LOL
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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Went out with a bang tonight in his final game at home. Singled in his final at bat and drove in the winning run.
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WestCoastJoe
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TheLionKing wrote:Went out with a bang tonight in his final game at home. Singled in his final at bat and drove in the winning run.
He has been clutch throughout his career.

Much speculation if he will be the first candidate to get 100% of the votes for the Hall. I doubt very much that it will happen.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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cromartie
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This Jeter circle jerk is getting old.

He's Robin Yount in a Yankee uniform. Nice, but not worth the parade. Paul Konerko meant every bit as much to the White Sox. I await the retirement fete he'll get this weekend.

Oh, that's right, he didn't play in New York.

There are 330 million non-Yankee fans in North America. Why is our time being wasted with this nonsense?
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WestCoastJoe
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I consider myself rather blasé about the Yankees these days. Yankees not making the playoffs? Cool.

Derek Jeter? He gets my vote. Even when rooting against the Yankees at times, I always noticed how Jeter was a difficult out, how, in fact, he came through in the clutch time and again. I respect what he has done in his career, and I respect how he has conducted himself in the public eye. :thup:

As noted, I was happy to watch him and Rivera play in Seattle. His achievements are greater than I had expected before a little research.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/ ... ePage=true
Jeter Gives Yankees Win at Stadium Finale

NEW YORK — Sep 26, 2014, 12:54 AM ET

By HOWIE RUMBERG AP Sports Writer

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter waves to fans as he walks around the infield after driving in the winning run against the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, in New York. The game, which the Yankees won 6-5, was Jeter's last home game of his career. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The Associated Press

Derek Jeter didn't want the night to end.

The retiring captain gave New York one more win with a big hit, then took two trips out to shortstop, waving to the adoring crowd each time following his final home game at Yankee Stadium.

Soon after his game-winning single in the ninth inning sent the Yankees over Baltimore 6-5 Thursday, Jeter said he played his last game at the position. He would only serve as designated hitter in his final three games in Boston this weekend.

"I want to take something special from Yankee Stadium," Jeter said in a news conference shown on the center field video board, with many fans still in their seats. "The view from shortstop here tonight is what I want to take."

As if on cue, Jeter began his last game in pinstripes with a double and ended it with another amazing moment in a career full of them.

"You can't even dream this stuff up," manager Joe Girardi said.

He was embraced by his teammates near second base as his Core Four buddies — Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada — came onto the field along with former manager Joe Torre, Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez.

"Sort of an out-of-body experience," said Jeter, who went 2 for 5 with three RBIs.

Jeter pointed and waved to the crowd of the 48,613, nearly all remained, as he walked out to the position he manned for 20 seasons. In an image seen before nearly every one of his 1,391 games at Yankee Stadium, Jeter faced the outfield and crouched down for a moment of reflection.

"Basically, I just say thank you because this is all I ever wanted to do," Jeter said of his ritual.

He then answered a few questions for TV, said hello to his family who moved to the front row near the Yankees dugout for the final two innings, and greeted the teammates he won five World Series championships with.

Once more he took a slow walk across the diamond, covering his face with a towel several times and waving to the crowd as they chanted his name and "Thank you, Jeter!"

All across the majors, players saluted the 40-year-old star.

"Wow," Boston slugger David Ortiz said, breaking into a grin and shaking his head after the Red Sox beat Tampa Bay at Fenway Park. "That's him. purrfect. It was unbelievable."

Moments after Detroit beat Minnesota, many players in the Tigers' clubhouse at Comerica Park simply stood in silence and watched the postgame on TV.

"You could see it coming when the inning started," reigning AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer said. "We were sitting in the lunchroom. It was like, 'Jeter's hitting third. He's going to walk it off.' We knew it."

With a packed house cheering his every move from the moment he ran out to stretch, and some tickets going for $10,000 each, Jeter's farewell in the Bronx began on time after a rainy, dreary day.

The captain led the team out of the dugout — as usual — and the cheering began in earnest — rarely letting up when Jeter was on the field. He took several deep breaths when he settled in at shortstop and waved to the crowd before the first pitch.

Andrew and Margaret Koslosky were sitting in the front row behind the backstop. He said he had a chance to sell his tickets for $10,000 each and turned it down.

"There wasn't enough money in the world to pay for the history we saw tonight," he said after the game. "End of an era. We grew up with that kid and we grew old with him. A part of all of us retired tonight."

The final player to wear a single-digit number for the Yankees waved to fans in the box seats as he came to the on-deck circle in the first inning. After a standing ovation that lasted nearly a minute, he launched a long drive that just missed being a home run.

The drive off Kevin Gausman, who was 4 when Jeter made his debut in 1995, was the 3,462nd hit of No. 2's career, good for sixth on the career list. Jeter wound up scoring on a grounder as the crowd roared once again.

"When he hit that double I went behind home plate to cover and I swear I felt the entire place shaking," Gausman said. "The crowd was doing it for him, for the moment."

Not everything was purrfect for the 14-time All-Star with a charmed career and five World Series championships.

The Bleacher Creatures roll call was interrupted just as they got to a thunderous chant of "De-rek Je-ter!" That's when Baltimore's Nick Markakis led off the game with a home run, but Jeter still waved to the crew out in right-center field. Alejandro de Aza nearly silenced the crowd by connecting again.

But as they have throughout the Yankees' final homestand, nearly 50,000 fans stood in unison, with their camera lights shining and began cheering as a recording of longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard's introduction of Jeter played ahead of his first at-bat.

The constant celebrations over the eight-game homestand got to the always cool Jeter, and he felt as if he was going to cry several times Thursday: On his drive to the Bronx, when his teammates presented him with a painting and a watch, and right on up until he stepped into the batter's box in the ninth.

"I think I've done a pretty good job of controlling my emotions throughout the course of my career," Jeter said. "Today I wasn't able to do it. It's been getting more and more difficult these last few weeks, but today I wasn't able to do it."
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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sj-roc
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cromartie wrote:This Jeter circle jerk is getting old.

He's Robin Yount in a Yankee uniform. Nice, but not worth the parade. Paul Konerko meant every bit as much to the White Sox. I await the retirement fete he'll get this weekend.

Oh, that's right, he didn't play in New York.

There are 330 million non-Yankee fans in North America. Why is our time being wasted with this nonsense?
What's that? Jeter's retiring? Huh, no wonder I was starting to hear rumours the last couple days.

:whs: Thank you. If he'd played anywhere but NY (and hadn't announced it with a full season's lead time — who does this anymore in today's media landscape?) none of this useless distraction happens.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
TheLionKing
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cromartie wrote:This Jeter circle jerk is getting old.

He's Robin Yount in a Yankee uniform. Nice, but not worth the parade. Paul Konerko meant every bit as much to the White Sox. I await the retirement fete he'll get this weekend.

Oh, that's right, he didn't play in New York.

There are 330 million non-Yankee fans in North America. Why is our time being wasted with this nonsense?
I agree. Jeter this, Jeter that. The guys at 1040 were going gaga over this guy, the women he dated etc.etc.
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WestCoastJoe
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From all of his awards, a notable one is The Roberto Clemente Award.

I was very much a fan of Roberto Clemente, both as a ballplayer, and as a humanitarian. :thup:
The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente. Originally known as the Commissioner's Award, it has been presented by the MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.[1]
Some of Jeter's awards and achievements.

Silver Slugger Award, 5 times

Hank Aaron Award, 2 times

Gold Glove, 5 times

All Star, 14 times

World Series champion, 5 times, MVP in 2000

LIfetime ... BA .309, Hits 3,461, Home runs 260, RBIs 1307
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Nothing wrong with celebrating a great athlete's career. I haven't followed baseball very closely for some time, but a superstar who stays centered and doesn't develop a big head is definitely worth serious commendation. Jeter is in a distinct minority....
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